1945 Theatre Catalog, 4th Edition, Page 589 (561)

1945 Theatre Catalog, 4th Edition, Page 589

the general presentation will be so different from that of the cinema that we
are likely to see no change in the situation whereby the stage will be detrimental to the cinema or vice versa.

Independent Service for Theatres

In spite of the cooperation between
cinema and home-television interests recommended in the British government television report, it is clear that the theatre
must prepare to develop, both technically
and politically, quite independently. With
such a new field of endeavor introduced
by television, competition must inevitably result, and, therefore, exhibitors
must consider at an, early stage the question of building up a good political situation, so that eventually the rights of
presentation of special programs are not
denied to them.

Combined Films and Television

In the likely future progress of theatre
programs, we shall see a gradual absorption of television into the regular
daily performance. First, we shall have
to be prepared to instigate a service of
news items, and of primary importance
among these will be the events, as emphasized above, where the result is a
matter of speculative interest. Later,
we shall find the introduction of news
items and matters of daily topical interest which do not come under that heading. The next stage will be to screen
interviews with interesting personalities, for example, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Budget Day, or with the captain of the Australian cricket
team on the day of his arrival in England. Each and every day should provide an opportunity of such interviews
which will be greatly strengthened by the fact that they are being seen and
heard at the moment when they are
taking place and are being distributed
throughout the country for the benefit of
all those who have paid for cinema admission. Next in order of importance
will be fashion displays, outdoor pageants and items of general interest,
which will be greatly enhanced by the
fact that they are being seen ffin the
tieshfi

Thus, in the process of progressing,
the gradual entry of television into the
program as an adjunct to the presentation of the feature film, I have no doubt
that a new technique of program planning will have been developed which will
organize to the best advantage the combined resources of film and television.

Progress Toward Electronic Method

It will be seen that the next logical
step after the successful distribution of
"live" items to cinemas will be the distribution of films. Such a technical stage
having been reached, whereby the detail
and quality are up to the appropriate
standards, the object of making use of the television system for the distribution
of film material is two-fold; first to save
the cost of a large number of film prints,
and, second, to simplify, which might
otherwise prove to be a considerable difficulty, the timing of programs issued to
various cinemas on a large network.
We may see, in fact, the method developed so that the complete program,

l945-THEATRE

CATALOG

whether it consists of feature films,
shorts, or filive" television items, will be
distributed to a large number of cinemas
from central control points.

Such a state of affairs, however, is not
likely to replace the normal film production methods used in making feature
films, although such methods are likely
to be speeded up in the general progress towards greater efiiciency with saving in production costs. A comparison
has already been made by Ralph Austrian in his paper to the Society of Motion Picture Engineers on May 15, 1945,
of the two methods of presenting a
play by television. One method is to use
multi-studio technique and complicated

cut sheets, followed by many rehearsals,
to give instantaneous rendering of a play
in front of the television camera. The
other method is to put the whole play on
to film which can be edited at leisure
to result in a polished presentation
where the tempo and continuity are fully

imaintained. In no way can the former

equal the latter when it is a question of
getting over a bright, and fast-moving
show. The same must apply to dramatic
presentation in the cinema. There will
always be the need for a properly produced film by the established methods,
even though such a film may not get beyond one copy which will be used at the control center when the feature is

FIGURE l3.-The pomp and circumstance of royalty are also subiects for television pick-up, as, for example, the
Trooping of the Color shown in this British Broadcasting Corporation photograph. Actualities of the news type
have been broadcast, such as the Cenotaph ceremony with His Maiesty the King (on this occasion an unexpected
disturbance in the crowd created a special added interest) and the visit of the French president to London.